A new study shows that concussions are occurring at a higher rate than ever before. “No one really sees the dark sides,” says one young goaltender unlikely to play again.

It took a teenager who spends most of his day in a dark room to shed real light on the true cost of brain injuries in hockey.

The statistics in a new concussion study on junior hockey released Monday were stark enough: The incidence of brain injury is seven times higher than previously reported. The findings of an examination of two fourth-tier junior hockey teams showed 25 per cent of the players suffered a concussion over the 2009-10 season. Nearly a third of those players also suffered a second concussion.

But it was the presence of 19-year-old goalie Brad Madigan of Aurora and his family at the Toronto news conference that put a human face on the numbers, even if he wasn’t part of the study in question.

Madigan was blindsided and knocked out in a game in 2008, but told the coaches and trainer he was okay to return and finished out the game despite blurred vision. He has not played since and is unlikely to ever play again.

He had to drop out of university because of recurring headaches and sensitivity to light and noise. He spends about six hours a day in a dark room.

Madigan and his family showed a lot of courage in addressing the issue, often in tears and with voices breaking.

“That was his world,” said his mother Debbie. “He was doing hockey all the time. That’s where his friends were. That identified Brad as Brad. I think that’s been the hardest. There’s the agitation, the frustration. And it does change the whole dynamic with the family.”

A leading Toronto neurosurgeon called on the NHL, Hockey Canada and other organizations to step forward to fill a “leadership void” that’s contributing greatly to the burgeoning problem.

“The point is there are people being damaged constantly,” said Dr. Michael Cusimano, who estimated that 15,000 to 20,000 kids would suffer concussions needlessly this season. “Is that what we really want to do?”

Cusimano was part of the study headed by Dr. Paul Echlin of London, Ont., that looked at players with an average age of 18. The majority of hits causing a concussion were to the head (29 of 42 according to observers, or 69 per cent.) According to observers, 80 per cent of the hits that caused concussions were intentional.

“These are conservative numbers because of non-reporting, because of people pulling out of the study, because we didn’t report on the other side of the rink,” said Echlin, referring to the study as a whole.

Paul Melia, ceo of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport and a Level 1 hockey coach, called the new report a “siren call” for the hockey community.

“This is not a murky area clouded in uncertainty,” said Melia. “It’s as much a social issue. ... Right now is the right time to act on these findings.”

Concussions are certainly a hot issue. The American Academy of Neurology set out a new position statement Monday calling for any athlete suffering a concussion – or suspected concussion – to be taken off the field and not allowed back until examined by a qualified doctor. Sports Illustrated has just published a special issue on concussions.

The Madigan family worries about the culture of hockey and lack of awareness among coaches and trainers regarding putting kids who might have suffered a head injury back on the ice. Debbie Madigan said some of the leagues in the Aurora Minor Hockey Association turned down the opportunity to have a concussion awareness program.

Brad Madigan still watches hockey on TV. He said a recent feature on Taylor Hall brought home for him the problem the sport faces.

“On Hockey Night in Canada, they did a thing on Taylor Hall getting rammed into the boards, finishing the game and scoring that goal in Brandon and then they bring the GM of the Oilers on and he says ‘That’s when we knew he was a great hockey player,’” said Madigan.

“No. You’re encouraging that stigma (you’re not tough enough if you don’t play hurt). That’s why I finished my game. Who knows what might have happened if I didn’t.”]

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